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World Heritage Centre
By Paul Shapiro
The World Heritage Centre at Queen’s Warehouse on Penno’s Wharf, St. George’s, represents a starting point for journeys of exploration around the whole island.
The centre, officially opened in 2009, offers engaging exhibits, films and interactive displays that create a compelling and entertaining picture of the town’s past, its importance to Bermuda, and the area’s deep connections to the wider world — plus its unique chain of forts. As well as exploring the shared history of Bermuda and the U.S., the centre explains why St. George’s received its special UNESCO designation in 2000 that today protects its historical and cultural value. Maps, tour details and practical how-to information are also available in the harbourfront building, which is itself a historic preservation.
Visitors entering the building walk into the Trip-Planning Area, where large photo installations illustrate the splendours of St. George’s and its fortifications: the State House, Fort St. Catherine, St. Peter’s Church and various other museums and monuments. Staff offer advice, maps and brochures on key attractions. Visitors can then proceed into the adjacent exhibit space in the Orientation Gallery, or learn more about Bermuda, its forts and history exploring interactive exhibits and video upstairs.
The Orientation Gallery is a walk-through of Bermuda’s early history — from the Age of Discovery to the U.S. Civil War — showcasing the defining historical highlights of the first centuries. Through audio-visual installations, interpretive panels, models and dioramas, visitors learn about key episodes in the island’s past, including the fateful wreck of the Sea Venture that led to English colonisation; links to Jamestown and the first settlements; Bermuda’s maritime heritage of whaling, shipbuilding and piloting; George Washington and the Gunpowder Plot; and how Bermuda helped the South manoeuvre past Union blockades in the U.S. Civil War.
Leading to the upper floor, a graphic “time tree” on the wall details the milestones in Bermuda and St. George’s history. At the top of the stairs, the building’s historic hoist wheel can be seen. Interpretive panels describe its use in the warehouse during the 1800s, when it hauled up grain and other ships’ cargo for storage.
In the upper floor area, exhibits offer a wealth of detailed information and video about the East End, its history and its people. An audio-visual installation outside the centre’s Theatre has touch-screens that deliver video of actors playing historic figures — composite characters from Bermuda’s history representing the early 1600s, circa 1800 and the Second World War.
On the opposite side of the upper floor, key figures from the area’s past and present are featured. Large interactive touch-screens also delve into St. George’s past, from its architecture, archaeology and Native American links to the growth of the Old Town itself, from a tiny gathering of colonists’ huts to the picturesque and world-famous site it eventually became.
Relax, enjoy, save and see Bermuda by bus. A blue or pink pole indicates bus stops. If the pole is topped with blue, the bus travels from Hamilton; if the pole is topped pink, the route is toward Hamilton.
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